FMH20 Provide a safe environment for family members and individuals to meet

Overview

This standard covers the preparation for, and management of, a family visit to an individual as part of engagement between the individual and their family. The ‘safety’ comes in risk assessment and in the preparation of the individual and the family for the visit. Language and cultural needs also need to be assessed and addressed. The team organising this engagement extends to outside agencies that are in contact with the family and, where children or vulnerable adults are concerned, agencies competent to protect their best interests. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. how to establish a safe and secure environment including risk assessing the room, observation levels and numbers of escorting staff required
2. risk assessing the clinical presentation of the individual prior to the visit and the risk-to-benefit balance in order to inform the decision whether the visit should proceed or not
3. identifying benefits to individuals from different settings and treatments
4. how to gather intelligence about any history of substance misuse and/or supply by individuals, their families and/or their social networks, and any potential risks to relapse in a community setting
5. the risks to children from engagement with an estranged and ill parent
6. working knowledge of the concept of ‘child’s best interest’
7. family dynamics
8. processes and affects of child abuse
9. mental health disorders
10. drug, alcohol or substance misuse
11. self-harming behaviours, including ligation
12. offending behaviours, especially violent behaviour not related to mental illness.
13. psychopathy and personality disorder
14. methods of supervising a meeting
15. vulnerable adult protection, protocols and best practice
16. child care law, child protection laws, protocols and best practice (eg Safeguarding Children recommendations)
17. governmental recommendations regarding children visiting individuals in secure settings
18. agencies in different parts of the country providing child protection risk assessments and preparing children for meeting individuals
19. inquiry reports on forensic mental health settings, including recommendations and analysis of practice in the management of individuals and families relationships and meetings
20. how to check that a child’s valid consent has been obtained
21. critical knowledge of observation
22. conflict resolution and negotiation skills
23. current mental health legislation and regulations, including aftercare and restriction direction.

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. assess the risk indicators from the individual’s and family’s history and identify the benefits and risks of a meeting
2. ensure that the visit is part of a programme of engagement between family, team and individual and consistent with their care plan
3. take account of any issues of language and culture
4. where a child or vulnerable adult is involved, commission an independent assessment from the competent agency and ensure that the balance of risk and benefit in proposed contact is judged to be in the child’s or vulnerable adult’s best interests
5. ensure that any child has given valid consented through a competent agency to engage with the individual and has been prepared for it
6. engage with the individual to determine their thoughts and feelings about a forthcoming meeting and identify any changes in the predicted risks immediately before the meeting
7. help the individual plan how they will behave during the meeting and how to cope with different family reactions
8. prepare the family for what will happen during the visit and how they may expect to find the individual
9. agree with the team the nature of supervision, observation and support during the visit
10. prepare a physical environment that is suitable for the nature of the visit
11. ensure that family members understand and adhere to security requirements
12. supervise and observe the visit to a degree proportionate to the assessed risks and to the value of information likely to be obtained for the individual’s care plan
13. explain to the family the individual’s reaction to their visit and ask for their perspectives
14. record and report any positive or negative issues regarding any child
15. help the individual understand what happened during the meeting (eg why things went well or badly)
16. help the individual plan strategies for a future meeting
17. evaluate with the individual their thoughts and feelings following the visit and reflect this in their integrated care plan.

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: HWB4 Enablement to address health and wellbeing needs